Gotta choose a carrier

You might take a look at swift flatbed. Flatbed pays more, is more interesting, has much better load times most of the time, and you get enough of a workout that you won't be turning into jabba the hut anytime soon.

 

"Werner Transport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy in all the galaxy.We must be cautious my young Jedi padawan."

 

Its

Its alright. We all have our dues to pay is what I was getting at.

Also, I think that Magnum hires out of the SW. They area smaller Company, but have a good following here.

 

I can appreciate the need for flatbed. I am not really interested in it because I don't need any more back trouble. You are right though, it would help you stay in shape if you can handle the work to begin with. It has many fine points, just not for me.

 

Ok, I cannot speak for the others but I can speak for Swift yes starting pay is $0.25 per mile but the increases in that first year get you to $0.31 by the end of that first year. They will not force anyone to run teams I'm coded as a solo driver but, due to the holidays their Mentor/trainer poor. Which I can completely understand freight is notoriously slow at this time of the year. Time with a mentor is based on hours you must complete 240 hours with a mentor and perform 40 different types of backs. So if I do the math 240 x 50mph = 12000 miles not 60000.

I went through the company sponsored school and was very impressed after reading some of the horror stories on here from students. Cost of school is $3900 + $500 housing which covers the entire time your in their school. You sign a contract as a payroll deduction for school once you get solo status it's $37.50 + $23 per week the last one drops off after the $500 is payed off the other is for 13 months.

You can make your own call on it because ultimately it is your decision to find a Co. that fits your needs. I'm satisfied that I made the right decision.

Keep the clean side up and be safe out there.

 

Thanks Longshot, I went to an accredited school here in town as I am still working full time in my soon-to-be old job. It was a lot more money but because it was nationally accredited, it was able to go on government backed student loans. I am thinking about giving Swift a call and seeing what their recruiter has to say. The only recruiters we ever see at my school are from Werner and Covenant. I wouldn't even consider covenant as they are teams only out west. In addition their pay scale is super low in my opinion.

That being said, I have visited a few truck stops over the last couple days and all the Swift drivers seem happy. I talked to a Crete driver today that had been there 10 years, I put in an app with them a month or two ago and never heard back. Left a message, never heard back.

 

I have orientation in Lakeland Mon.Any suggestion for a trainer?

 

Bro I went to Werner and had a great trainer..was lucky only took 4 days to get my own truck....drove on their walmart account in Wisconsin...and proceeded to not get alot of miles.......other folks have had worse things at Werner others have had better......
I said Swift because you are near a terminal out there in the desert...they do have decent equipment.....and really they have been the butt of the joke for decades but I'd rather deal with a swifty than most werners or JB's....just saying....it's your choice .......Choose wisely for you

 

I know for me, I had to be proactive with Swift they didn't call me back after I filled out the online app either. A week later after I called I was approved.

 

A little off-topic, but this is my thread... I finally got to go out on the road and shift some gears today after two weeks of only being able to putt around at idle on the range!!!

It was so exhilarating! It felt like I had been doing it forever. Of course my prior racing experience was a plus with double clutching. The trainer was like "you have really been ready for that moment haven't you?" I think he was expecting me to grind gears... No!

It was really sweet. I keep having one experience after another that is reassuring that I am doing the right thing. I am leaning towards Prime as my choice at the moment due to their reputation, their focus on safety with students and their starting pay... Only time will tell who I end up with though. I will definately be looking into Swift a little more and weigh my options.